Holler House is a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

that houses the oldest sanctioned

tenpin Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Holler House contains the two oldest sanctioned lanes in the nation,Feldman (2004), p. 152. both of which are still tended by human

pinsetter In bowling, a pinsetter or pinspotter is an automated mechanical device that sets bowling pins back in their original positions, returns bowling balls to the front of the alley, and clears fallen pins on the pin deck. Prior to the machine's ...

s. Holler House was opened in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, in 1908. The 100th anniversary party was held on Saturday, September 14, 2008. ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' has rated Holler House one of the best bars in America.

History

Holler House was founded on September 13, 1908, by "Iron Mike" Skoronski as Skowronski's.McClelland (2008), p. 28. His son, Gene, married Marcy in 1952 and they renamed it ''Gene and Marcy's''. After Gene died in 1990, Marcy Skowronski ran the tavern until her death in December 2019. Her family continues the business.

Tradition

Starting in the mid-twentieth century, Holler House began a tradition that has since accumulated nearly 1,000

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appear ...

s. This tradition started when the owner Marcy Skowronski was drinking with her friends, after which they started taking their clothes off. This has now grown into a tradition in which women autograph and hang their bras from various fixtures in the tavern on their first visit. When the bras started fraying, Skowronski boxed up most of them to make room for new ones to be displayed.

100th anniversary

In preparation for its 100th anniversary, Holler House received its first thorough cleaning in 40 years. During this cleaning, five two-hole 15-pound

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

bowling balls were found.

Same appearance as one century ago

Holler House still looks much the same as it did a century ago. The lanes are made of real

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

that was laid over a century ago, not the synthetic wood found in modern bowling alleys. It still has a manual pin-spotting mechanism on each lane, that pin boys return the bowlers' balls by rolling them down a traditional "overlane" return-track between the two lanes. Scores from bowling games are documented from paper hanging on the wall.

Memorabilia and the beer sold

Memorabilia dating back to as early as 1912 is displayed. Prices in the early days were 25 cents for a hot beef sandwich and 25 cents plus deposit for a half-gallon of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

was stored under a baby's crib on the assumption the police would not look there. There are no chairs in the bowling alley. Reflecting the ethnic background of the neighborhood, there are Polish eagle crests above the bowling lanes. Holler House sells only bottled beer, with the exception of Schlitz in a can. There is nothing on tap.

Notable bowlers and visitors

Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony (April 27, 1938 – August 14, 2001) was an American professional bowler who amassed records of 43 titles and six Player of the Year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. For over two decades, his care ...

, a professional bowler, who amassed a total of 43 titles on the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Member ...

(PBA) TourMcClelland (2008), p. 29. *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

, an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Traci Lords Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She entered the adult film industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of eighteen. Lords starred in adult fi ...

, an American

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

, a ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

, comedian *

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, musician *

Parker Bohn III Parker Morse Bohn III (born July 13, 1963) is a left-handed American professional bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 1984, and is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. Bohn is one of only eigh ...

, Pro-Bowler

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Holler House

Bowling Digital
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YouTube Video
Bowling alleys Entertainment companies established in 1908 Culture of Milwaukee Drinking establishments in Wisconsin Sports in Milwaukee Tourist attractions in Milwaukee 1908 establishments in Wisconsin Restaurants established in 1908 Polish-American culture in Milwaukee South Side, Milwaukee